History on Discs
Austin blues club Antone's honors the genre with special box set
The Last Real Texas Blues Album will be celebrated with a launch party before the box set officially comes out.
Austin's famous blues venue Antone's Nightclub has been promoting its 50th anniversary since the beginning of 2025, but one of the most collect-able pieces is finally ready to release this month. A five-disc vinyl box set with other historical materials will be released August 22.
The set, called Antone's: 50 Years Of The Blues, will contain 41 tracks that sketch a picture of why Antone's has become such a cultural touchstone in Austin and beyond. The set also comes with a 200-page hardcover photo book called Picture the Blues (a re-issue) by founder Clifford Antone's sister, Susan Antone; plus a bound book of liner notes and venue history by Joe Nick Patoski, a former reporter for Texas Monthly and the Austin American-Statesman.
As detailed in a press release, the discs will contain three full-length albums with different historical scopes:
- The Last Real Texas Blues Album is the only album of the three with newly recorded music, all performed by artists who have had a major impact on the venue's past. That includes blues singer and guitarist Jimmie Vaughan, Vaughan's group The Fabulous Thunderbirds, producer and former Bob Dylan guitarist Charlie Sexton, folk-blues singer-songwriter Ruthie Foster, blues-rap-funk visionary Bobby Rush, accordionist C.J. Chenier (also the son of Clifton Chenier, the "King Of Zydeco"), and longtime Muddy Waters guitarist and bandleader John Primer. This album contains two LPs.
- Tell Me One More Time features older material that the club has deemed "long-lost" among its Antone's Records collection, the club's in-house label. The label and this album prioritize female-fronted blues. Listeners will hear Lou Ann Barton, Angela Strehli, Lavelle White, Sue Foley, and Barbara Lynn.
- We Went Live In '75 is similarly presented as a collection of rare live recordings, but this time from any part of Antone's history — not just the record label. Artists on this one include Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, and Gary Clark Jr.
Antone's: 50 Years Of The Blues is still available for preorder ($200) via Antone's Record Shop and Big Henry's Vinyl & Gifts, the shop next door to the venue. A giveaway ending before 5 pm on August 18 will set someone up with an autographed copy.
The nightclub will also host a free listening party for The Last Real Texas Blues Album on August 18 at 6 pm. Some box sets will be available for purchase in-person, and there will be free drinks and special guests. (Listeners at home can also join in on Bandcamp, where there will be a live chat where listeners can ask questions.) Then on August 19, it's the "same deal" at Antone’s Record Shop at 2928 Guadalupe St. #101.
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